As pointed out in U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,933, in the United States and in many other countries, a police officer is required to carry a flashlight, a baton, and a fire arm, typically a hand gun. Police officers in Europe and in the United States are taught to fire their hand guns using a two-handed grip on the gun and in firing multiple shots, and it reduces re-coil since it is easier to hold the gun barrel steady when two hands are used for support.
During daylight hours or well lighted areas the foregoing procedure does not normally cause any problems. However, when an officer needs to aim his gun or be prepared to fire when approaching a suspect in darkened areas, it is difficult if not impossible to aim the gun correctly while at the same time using a flashlight to illuminate the area. If the flashlight is held in one hand and the gun in the other, the officer is at a disadvantage, since it is difficult to aim accurately using only one hand, and also since it is difficult to hold both the flashlight and the gun while firing rapidly at the target.
In view of the problems, discussed above, various attachment devices have been proposed in the prior art to secure flashlights to handguns, so that both hands are left free for aiming and firing the handgun. One typical arrangement is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,716, in which a bracket is provided for detachably mounting a flashlight on the hand grip of a gun. The type of arrangement shown in the patent, however, has a number of drawbacks. One major problem is the difficulty of rapidly and easily attaching the handgun and the flashlight together. Another drawback is the interference of the bracket with conventional two-handed firing of the hand gun. Also, the hand gun with the attached bracket does not fit into a standard holster.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,933, the hand grip of the firearm is extended and is shaped to be fitted around the cylindrical casing of a flashlight, so that the flashlight and hand gun may be used together. The present invention achieves the desired intendment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,933, without any need to alter the conventional design of the hand gun.
In accordance with the present invention, an elongated bracket is releasably attached to the cylindrical casing of a flashlight, and extends radially outwardly from the casing. The bracket of the invention is shaped so that it may be grasped in one hand to direct the beam of the flashlight at a selected target. The bracket is also shaped to permit the hand gun to be held in the normal two-handed grip between the hands of the user while one hand grips the bracket itself. In this way, the hand gun may be aimed at the target illuminated by the beam of the flashlight.